Two men who worked for BP during the 2010 Gulf oil spill disaster have been charged with manslaughter, hours after BP announced it was paying $4.5 billion in a settlement with the U.S. government over the disaster. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the criminal investigation is continuing.

Oil company BP said Monday it is selling some deep-water assets in the Gulf Mexico to Plains Exploration & Production Co. for $5.55 billion, a big step in the BP's drive to cover the cost of its oil well blowout in the Gulf two years ago and concentrate investment elsewhere.

Popularity can be fickle: One day America loves your brand; the next, you're passe. But every year brings some surprising rebounds, and you won't believe some of the companies that made 2012's list for most improved images in the eyes of U.S. consumers.

The delivery of a Chinese-built, Spanish-backed offshore oil rig to Cuban waters has been delayed until summer. But when drilling does begin 90 miles off the Florida coast, it could mean a host of problems -- and opportunities -- on the energy and the political fronts.

Oil industry practices and government rules must be subjected to substantial reform to prevent future accidents similar to BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico last April, said a report released Tuesday by the presidential panel probing the incident.

During the height of the bad publicity from the BP oil spill, there was much speculation about whether independent gas station owners would ditch the beleaguered oil company's brand. By and large, though, that didn't happen, and in the months since the disaster, business at many BP stations has rebounded.

Shares in BP (BP) jumped to the highest in six months on media reports that Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) considered bidding for the British company during the Gulf Oil disaster.
BP shares climbed 5% to 488.85 pence at 10:00 GMT, Reuters reported.

One would think that BP's massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill this year would have given pause to the global oil industry, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Companies in the sector are planning to spend a record $490 billion in 2011, including a large amount for deep-water development.

BP (BP) shares fell the most in four months in London after the Obama administration sued the oil giant, saying it violated environmental laws during the Gulf oil disaster.
BP shares retreated by as much as 3.2%, the most since August, Bloomberg News said. As of 9:08am local time, the shares were down 2.3% at 465.4 pence.

BP is apparently considering the $1 billion sale of some of its assets in the North Sea as it tries to cover cleanup costs from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The company's Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico exploded in April, leading to the most massive oil spill in U.S. history.

The Obama administration will temporarily ban the sale of new offshore oil drilling leases in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic coast, Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday, a policy change made in response to lessons learned from BP's horrific Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

BP (BP) commissioned a feature-length film about the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.
The movie, produced by World Television, will act as a historical "archive," BP spokesman Robert Wine told The New York Times.

When the BP Gulf oil spill hit, Flowserve's stock was one of the energy plays that got hammered along with BP. But seven months later, it has risen back to it pre-disaster level. And several analysts see even better days coming.

BP (BP) may have ignored potential risks related to the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and the company suffered from a "lack of operating discipline" according to an interim report.
The report from the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council questions the competency of key personnel on the Deepwater Horizon rig, Bloomberg News reported.

Tony Hayward, former CEO of BP Plc (BP) said that the company was not prepared for the Gulf oil spill or the media attention that went with it.
In an interview with BBC News to be broadcast today, Hayward said that BP%u2019s emergency planning was lacking and the company was "making it up day to day".

The lead investigator for the presidential panel's investigation of April's Deepwater Horizon oil-spill disaster that killed 11 workers refuted previous reports that the rig's majority owner BP Plc and contractor Halliburton Co. compromised safety by cutting corners during the rig's construction, the New York Times reported.

BP (BP) will sell four deep-water oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico for $650 million.
BP will sell the fields to Marubeni Oil and Gas, a unit of Japan%u2019s Marubeni Corp., The Wall Street Journal said. The deal could be completed by early 2011.

BP (BP) will award its fourth-quarter bonuses based entirely on performance on safety-related issues.
CEO Bob Dudley told employees on Monday that the bonus policy is meant to emphasize that safety is the company%u2019s top priority, The Associated Press reported.

BP (BP) will sell a total of $1.8 billion of assets in Venezuela and Vietnam to TNK-BP to raise money to fund the Gulf of Mexico oil spill clean up.
TNK-BP, a joint venture between BP and a group of Russian billionaires, will make a $1 billion deposit by Oct. 29 and pay the rest in the first half of 2011, Bloomberg News reported.